A recessed light or downlight is a lighting fixture that is installed into a hollow opening in a ceiling or wall. A large percentage of residential recessed lighting fixtures include a metal cylinder (“can”) mounted into the ceiling using horizontal metal struts attached to the ceiling framework. A light bulb socket is mounted within the cylinder, into which a light bulb can be inserted. The light bulb is commonly a 60 W incandescent light bulb or a 15 W compact fluorescent bulb. This arrangement provides structural support and the electrical connection for the light bulb installed. Further, the cylinder can be substantially airtight around the sides and top to prevent the loss of ambient heat or cooling from the room into the ceiling cavity through the fixture, and the cylinder can shield the light bulb from any insulation placed around the can within the ceiling cavity to help prevent the light bulb from starting a fire.
An insert can be installed into the can to provide a better fit for the light bulb, to reflect at least some of the light directed into the fixture, or to simply improve the aesthetic appearance of the lighting fixture. This insert is often referred to as a trim portion. By modifying the basic arrangement in this way, a single fixture can be adapted for use with a wide variety of shapes and styles of lighting elements. The ability to modify the fixture is not limited to using different trim portions to accommodate different incandescent light bulbs, though. For instance, U.S. Patent Application Pub. No. 2007/0279903 to Negley et al. discloses a lighting device containing a group of solid state light emitters (e.g., light-emitting diodes) that can be used in the kind of standard residential recessed lighting fixture discussed above.
Unfortunately, the generally standardized and easily modified design of residential recessed lights is not carried over to the commercial lighting market. Because many commercial applications involve lighting being recessed in drop ceilings, there is generally no contact with insulation and thus there is not necessarily a need for a cylindrical can to be included in the fixture. Rather, a lighting fixture rough-in can be installed. As will be understood by those having skill in the art, a lighting fixture rough-in is a base structural component that can be mounted between ceiling joists or other structural members of a commercial drop ceiling and that serves as a frame to provide support for the components of the lighting fixture. For example, a lighting fixture rough-in of this kind can often simply include a frame, often referred to as a “pan”, mounted into the ceiling using horizontal metal struts attached to the ceiling framework. An example of a typical lighting fixture rough-in of this kind is shown in FIG. 1. The lighting fixture rough-in 10 can include a frame 12 defining an aperture 14 in which the lighting element will reside. Lighting fixture rough-in 10 also generally includes an electrical junction box 20 for connecting the fixture to the building power supply. Further, a junction head 22 having a junction socket 24 can be connected to the junction box 20. Of course, rough-in 10 can provide support for a variety of other components, including for example wiring, additional ballast, or thermal protection.
As is shown in FIG. 2, a finishing section 16 can then be positioned within aperture 14 and secured to frame 12 to complete the lighting fixture. The use of finishing section 16 is analogous to the use of a trim section in residential fixtures, and thus finishing section 16 can be specifically shaped to match the shape of the lighting element to be installed and to provide desirable reflective properties of the finished lighting fixture. To install finishing section 16, junction socket 24 is generally clipped directly to finishing section 16 using mounting clips 26. Oftentimes, one or both of the connections between finishing section 16 and frame 12 and that between finishing section 16 and junction socket 24 are specifically designed so that other finishing sections cannot be readily substituted. As a result, a user desiring to install a different kind of lighting element can be forced to replace lighting fixture rough-in 10 in its entirety rather than simply changing out finishing section 16.
Thus, whereas residential fixtures can generally be easily adapted for use with a wide variety of light bulbs or other lighting elements, the options for the kinds of lighting elements that can be used with these can-less commercial fixtures are often limited by the specific configuration of the lighting fixture rough-in.